Briefs: 'Eaters land Woods

Standout guard from Arizona chooses UC Irvine over Arizona State, San Diego State, Fresno State among other teams.

Collin Woods, the Arizona 5A-II Division Player of the Year last season who is ranked No. 48 among high school point guards by ESPN.Com, picked UC Irvine in the November signing period for men's basketball.

The 6-foot-2 Woods averaged 17.5 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.0 steals per game last season at Horizon High in Scottsdale.

He chose UCI over Air Force, Arizona State, Colorado, Colorado State, San Diego State, Fresno State and UTEP.

Another early signee for the Anteaters is 7-0 center Thanos Thodos from Greece. The 240-pound Thanos graduated from high school in Greece in 2010 and is playing this season at Lee Academy, a prep school in Maine.

"I'm excited about these guys joining our program next season," UCI Coach Russell Turner said. "We are getting a point guard and a true center and we have one scholarship left for the spring signing period."

"Woods is talented and athletic and has tremendous potential as a player. I'm equally impressed with his competitive makeup and his personal character.

"Thanos has great hands, impressive basketball IQ and the aggressive mentality I look for in young big players. He has a 7-5 wingspan and has the potential to become a difference-maker for us inside as he matures physically."

— From staff reports

UCI baseball recruits

Eight high school players and one junior college transfer were landed by the UC Irvine baseball program in the November signing period, associate head coach and recruiting coordinator Pat Shine announced.

Connor Spencer, a left-handed hitting first baseman from Tesoro High, owns school records in average (.538), hits (47) and doubles (14) after earning second-team All-CIF Southern Section laurels last season. He has led the South Coast League in hitting each of the last two seasons and boasted an .833 slugging percentage in 2010.

Taylor Sparks is a 6-foot-4, 200-pound shortstop at St. John Bosco High, where he hit .354 with six home runs and 15 stolen bases last season.

"Taylor is one of the most talented players in Southern California," Shine said. "He has the upside and athleticism to be an immediate contributor at UCI and he has a great future in professional baseball."

Race Parmeter, the lone community college player in the class, was 2-1 with a 3.63 earned-run average at Golden West. As a senior at Marina High, the 5-foot-11 right-hander was 7-0 with a 1.79 ERA.

Sam Moore is a 6-0 right-hander at Peninsula High, where he posted a 2.12 ERA and struck out 64 in 60 innings last season. He threw five complete games in 2010 and was a first-team All-Bay League choice.

John Alexander, a first baseman and outfielder, helped lead Glendora High to a CIF Southern Section Division II title in 2010. He batted .395 with 11 doubles and five home runs and struck out just 12 times. Also a standout volleyball player, the 6-5 left-handed hitter had a .721 slugging percentage.

Kyle Davis, a right-handed pitcher and outfielder at Great Oak High in Temecula, hit .344 with four homer runs and was 3-0 with a pair of saves and a 1.27 ERA in nine innings on the mound. He struck out 11 and allowed six hits.

Shine said Davis was a two-way prospect for the Anteaters.

Kris Paulino, an outfielder at Tesoro, hit .468 as a sophomore in 2009, then hit .419 last season, when he had nine doubles, three triples and one homer. He was a first-team All-South Coast League performer in 2010.

Jonathan Munoz, a 6-3, left-handed hitting infielder from Diamond Bar High, hit .360 with four doubles, three homers and 22 runs batted in as a junior in 2010.